[unreadable] The second international conference on Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis Type II (MPGN II) will be held August 18-20, 2006 at the Wellcome Trust Conference and Meetings Centre on the Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge UK. The aims and objectives of this meeting are: 1) To present advances in our understanding of the molecular genetics of MPGN II; 2) To present results of animal trials focused on therapeutic options for MPGN II; 3) To identify and define current research problems and issues that must be addressed in order to advance scientific knowledge and stimulate research that will lead to the development of effective therapies to prevent progression and recurrence of MPGN II. These aims and objectives are a logical extension of the first international conference on MPGN II held in Boston, MA August 13-14, 2004, and will be achieved by: 1) bringing together basic scientists with expertise in complement-mediated disease, nephro-pathologists with expertise in glomerulopathies, clinical nephrologists with expertise in glomerulonephritis, geneticists with expertise in MPGN II, and chemists with expertise in the complement cascade; 2) focusing on pathogenic mechanisms that lead to MPGN II, with special emphasis on recent discoveries implicating factor H in this disease; 3) reviewing animal data exploring several anti-complement strategies that are being tested in the Cfh -/- mouse mutant; and, 4) reaffirming the commitment of KIDNEEDS, a not-for-profit fund of the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation, Cedar Rapids, IA to provide continued support for MPGN II research. The conference will span two days. The first day will include talks and discussions focused on the clinical epidemiology of MPGN II, the glomerulus, and the genetics of MPGN II. The second day will include talks and discussions focused on therapeutic options that should be considered in the treatment of MPGN II. Building on the success of the first conference in which we used a round-table discussion format, we will use a similar conference structure at this meeting. The outcome of first conference clearly defined the state of knowledge of MPGN II as published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (Appel et al., 2005). We will also publish the proceedings of this meeting. This grant is to support scientists from North America attending the 2nd international conference on Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis Type II (MPGN II) to be held August 18-20, 2006 at the Wellcome Trust Conference and Meetings Centre on the Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge UK. [unreadable] [unreadable]